Variant 5-lipoxygenase genotypes identify a subpopulation with increased atherosclerosis. The observed diet-gene interactions further suggest that dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids promote, whereas marine n-3 fatty acids inhibit, leukotriene-mediated inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis in this subpopulation.

As a starting point for a phylogenetic study of self-incompatibility (SI) in crucifers and to elucidate the genetic basis of transitions between outcrossing and self-fertilizing mating systems in this family, we investigated the SI system of Arabidopsis lyrata . A. lyrata is an outcrossing close relative of the self-fertile A. thaliana and is thought to have diverged from A. thaliana ‫ف‬ 5 million years ago and from Brassica spp 15 to 20 million years ago. Analysis of two S (sterility) locus haplotypes demonstrates that the A. lyrata S locus contains tightly linked orthologs of the S locus receptor kinase ( SRK ) gene and the S locus cysteine-rich protein ( SCR ) gene, which are the determinants of SI specificity in stigma and pollen, respectively, but lacks an S locus glycoprotein gene. As described previously in Brassica , the S haplotypes of A. lyrata differ by the rearranged order of their genes and by their variable physical sizes. Comparative mapping of the A. lyrata and Brassica S loci indicates that the S locus of crucifers is a dynamic locus that has undergone several duplication events since the Arabidopsis-Brassica split and was translocated as a unit between two distant chromosomal locations during diversification of the two taxa. Furthermore, comparative analysis of the S locus region of A. lyrata and its homeolog in self-fertile A. thaliana identified orthologs of the SRK and SCR genes and demonstrated that self-compatibility in this species is associated with inactivation of SI specificity genes. INTRODUCTIONSelf-incompatibility (SI) is the major outcrossing mechanism in the family Brassicaceae (de Nettancourt, 1977). Species in this family have been grouped into 19 tribes on the basis of morphological criteria (Schultz, 1936), and SI has been described in all tribes analyzed to date. When Bateman (1955) surveyed 182 species distributed in 11 tribes, he found that approximately half of these species included selfincompatible accessions. In a survey of 59 taxa in the subtribe Brassicineae of the tribe Brassiceae (which includes Brassica and Raphanus ), 50 taxa were self-incompatible (Takahata and Hinata, 1980). In all cases analyzed, SI has been shown to be controlled sporophytically by a single S (sterility) locus, with multiple alleles or variants and complex dominance relationships between alleles (Bateman, 1954(Bateman, , 1955Thompson and Taylor, 1966): in self-incompatible plants, pollen will not develop on a stigma that expresses the same S alleles as the pollen parent.Molecular analysis of the Brassica S locus region has shown that this mendelian locus is a gene complex consisting of distinct stigma-expressed and anther-expressed genes that determine SI specificity in stigma and pollen, respectively (reviewed in Nasrallah, 2000). The SRK (for S locus receptor kinase) gene (Stein et al., 1991) encodes a plasma membrane-spanning receptor serine/threonine kinase specific to the stigma epidermis (Stein et al., 1996) and is the determinant of SI specificity in the stigma (Takasaki et al., 2000). ...

Fifth-graders' (N = 162; 93 girls) relationships with parents and friends were examined with respect to their main and interactive effects on psychosocial functioning. Participants reported on parental support, the quality of their best friendships, self-worth, and perceptions of social competence. Peers reported on aggression, shyness and withdrawal, and rejection and victimization. Mothers reported on psychological adjustment. Perceived parental support and friendship quality predicted higher global self-worth and social competence and less internalizing problems. Perceived parental support predicted fewer externalizing problems, and paternal (not maternal) support predicted lower rejection and victimization. Friendship quality predicted lower rejection and victimization for only girls. Having a supportive mother protected boys from the effects of low-quality friendships on their perceived social competence. High friendship quality buffered the effects of low maternal support on girls' internalizing difficulties.Keywords friendship; parent-child relationships; attachment; social withdrawal; aggression From the earliest years of childhood, children develop significant relationships with family members and, with increasing age, their peers. Over the years, researchers have examined the influence that children's experiences with these relationships may have on their functioning. Links have been established between parent-child relationship quality and adjustment during the pre-, elementary, and middle school years as well as later adolescence (see Rubin & Burgess, 2002, for a relevant review). Likewise, aspects of children's peer relationships and friendships have been associated with psychosocial functioning. Recently, researchers have examined relations between relationship systems and the manner in which experiences in both familial and extrafamilial relationships may interact to influence psychosocial functioning. The focus of this study was on parent-youth adolescent and friendship relationships and whether and how friendships serve to moderate the association between parent-adolescent relationship quality and psychosocial functioning. NIH Public Access An Attachment FrameworkAlthough there are a number of ways in which relationships with parents may influence relationships with friends and psychosocial functioning, our framework in the present study is based on premises drawn from attachment theory. According to attachment theorists, the child who receives responsive and sensitive parenting from the primary caregiver forms an internal working model of that caregiver as trustworthy and dependable when needed and develops a model of the self as someone who is worthy of such care (Bowlby, 1973(Bowlby, , 1982. Through experience with a responsive and sensitive caregiver, the child learns reciprocity in social interactions (Elicker, Englund, & Sroufe, 1992) and a set of specific social skills that can be used in relationships that extend beyond the child-caregiver relationship. Also, the securely attac...

Background-Carotenoids are hypothesized to explain some of the protective effects of fruit and vegetable intake on risk of cardiovascular disease. The present study assessed the protective effects of the oxygenated carotenoid lutein against early atherosclerosis. Methods and Results-Epidemiology: Progression of intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries over 18 months was determined ultrasonographically and was related to plasma lutein among a randomly sampled cohort of utility employees age 40 to 60 years (nϭ480). Coculture: The impact of lutein on monocyte response to artery wall cell modification of LDL was assessed in vitro by quantification of monocyte migration in a coculture model of human intima. Mouse models: The impact of lutein supplementation on atherosclerotic lesion formation was assessed in vivo by assigning apoE-null mice to chow or chow plus lutein (0.2% by weight) and LDL receptor-null mice to Western diet or Western diet plus lutein. IMT progression declined with increasing quintile of plasma lutein (P for trendϭ0.007, age-adjusted; Pϭ0.0007, multivariate). Covariate-adjusted IMT progression (meanϮSEM) was 0.021Ϯ0.005 mm in the lowest quintile of plasma lutein, whereas progression was blocked in the highest quintile (0.004Ϯ0.005 mm; Pϭ0.01).In the coculture, pretreatment of cells with lutein inhibited LDL-induced migration in a dose-dependent manner (PϽ0.05). Finally, in the mouse models, lutein supplementation reduced lesion size 44% in apoE-null mice (Pϭ0.009) and 43% in LDL receptor-null mice (Pϭ0.02). Conclusions-These epidemiological, in vitro, and mouse model findings support the hypothesis that increased dietary intake of lutein is protective against the development of early atherosclerosis.

Rarely have researchers elucidated early childhood precursors of externalizing behaviors for boys and girls from a normative sample. Toddlers (N = 104; 52 girls) were observed interacting with a same-sex peer and their mothers, and indices of conflict-aggression, emotion and behavior dysregulation, parenting, and child externalizing problems were obtained. Results indicated that boys initiated more conflictual-aggressive interactions as toddlers and had more externalizing difficulties 2 years later, yet girls' (not boys') conflict-aggressive initiations at age 2 were related to subsequent externalizing problems. When such initiations were controlled for, emotional-behavioral undercontrol at age 2 also independently predicted externalizing problems at age 4. Moreover, the relation between conflict-aggressive initiations at age 2 and externalizing problems at age 4 was strongest for dysregulated toddlers. Finally, the relation between age 2 conflict-aggressive initiations and age 4 externalizing problems was strongest for those toddlers who incurred high levels of maternal negativity. These findings illustrate temperament by parenting connections in the development of externalizing problems.

The intake of viscous fiber, especially pectin, appears to protect against IMT progression. Serum lipids may act as a mediator between dietary fiber intake and IMT progression.

Objective-Recent epidemiologic and animal model data suggest that oxygenated carotenoids are protective against early atherosclerosis. We assessed the association between atherosclerotic progression, measured by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and plasma levels of oxygenated and hydrocarbon carotenoids, tocopherols, retinol, and ascorbic acid. Methods and Results-Participants were from an occupational cohort of 573 middle-aged women and men who were free of symptomatic cardiovascular disease at baseline. Ultrasound examination of the common carotid arteries, lipid level determination, and risk factor assessment were performed at baseline and 18-month follow-up. Plasma levels of antioxidants were determined at baseline only. Change in IMT was related to baseline plasma antioxidant levels in regression models controlling for covariates. In models adjusted for age, sex, and smoking status, 18-month change in IMT was significantly inversely related to the 3 measured oxygenated carotenoids (lutein, ␤-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin; PϽ0.02 for all) and one hydrocarbon carotenoid, ␣-carotene (Pϭ0.003). After adjusting for additional cardiac risk factors and potential confounders, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, these associations remained significant (PϽ0.05). Conclusions-These findings suggest that higher levels of plasma oxygenated carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, ␤-cryptoxanthin) and ␣-carotene may be protective against early atherosclerosis. Key Words: atherosclerosis Ⅲ antioxidants Ⅲ carotid arteries T he oxidative-modification hypothesis proposes that atherogenesis is initiated by oxidative damage to lowdensity lipoproteins (LDL) in the artery wall. The presence of oxidized LDL in the subendothelium of arteries stimulates monocyte recruitment and differentiation to macrophage, resulting in the formation of foam cells and increased thickness of arterial walls. 1 Antioxidants have been hypothesized to inhibit lipid peroxidation and play a protective role against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. 2 In vitro studies suggest that vitamins C and E and carotenoids inhibit the damaging activities of oxidized LDL cholesterol. [3][4][5] Evidence from population studies, including descriptive, case-control, and cohort studies, has shown that dietary, 6 -11 plasma, or serum level of vitamin E, 12-14 ascorbic acid, 15-17 and carotenoids 18 -22 were inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality rate or early atherosclerosis. However, other epidemiological studies have reported no association between cardiovascular events with plasma 23,24 or serum antioxidants, 25-27 and dominantly negative results have been reported from intervention trials of ␤-carotene or vitamin E. 28 -32 We previously reported that dietary supplementation with lutein reduced atherosclerosis in two strains of susceptible mice. 22 We also found that plasma lutein was inversely associated with progression of atherosclerosis, as measured by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), in a cohort of middle-aged women and men. ...

This paper is organized to highlight gaps in our current understanding of attachment during the middle and later years of childhood and to allow researchers to make informed decisions regarding measurement selection. First, theoretical and methodological considerations with respect to the study of attachment during this age range are discussed. Thereafter, all published self-report and interview-based measures that have been used with normative samples of children aged eight through twelve years are examined and evaluated in detail in terms of the available evidence of their reliability and validity. Finally, advantages and disadvantages of the measures are highlighted, and specific recommendations are suggested for further research.